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This massive share buyback is the best move under the circumstances. So far 1/2% treasury shares - maybe at these low prices, they should aim to ramp up to 1%.

We should assess Btoto's results for the 1st quarter under GST beforehand. Also don't forget about the uncertainty in Philippines

The management is quite kiasu, wanting to win on all counts.

If they make KJ a dull share with no dividend & capital gain then I hope EPF will start barking. I also hope the MD will realise that life is short - no use playing a waiting game before long he'll be too old to enjoy the spoils.

Are we in a Warren Buffet moment for Btoto? - he said to buy when the fear is the greatest and sell when euphoria sets in

Just picked up some Magnum (not ice cream)

Btoto : PE - 12.1 & Div Yield - 6.6% vs

Magnum : PE - 15.0 & Div Yield - 7.4%

Which one is better?

now i just keep for dividends and hope for a miraculous recovery

pathetic dividends

I believe that EPF despite it's deep pockets will soon want to see some dividends. They will run out of patience if none or only peanuts are forthcoming. Unlike Can-one, EPF is a pure investor. It does not have much opportunities to engage in dirty related party deals. Would minority shareholders or EPF blink first?

The Chee guy I'm sure has some solid $ behind him as an unofficial proxy for Can-one.

They have to be fair to the minority shareholders to make up for the pathetic dividends. We who have taken the risk with this Co must enjoy up to the fair value of the Co. Pay a super dividend & then offer to buy up the rest at above the current offer at say RM3.50.

A fair compensation should be the SOP instead of these behemoths with deep pockets like EPF & Can-One quibbling over a few cents. They should show magnanimity instead of coming down to our level to battle with us.

Can-one & EPF also will enjoy the extra cash in the till from the dividend which they can use to buy up the remaining shares.

Bro - A co that is doing well & has not paid their usual minuscule dividend should be worth a lot more. The result of years of so-called prudent a.k.a. tiny dividend policy can be seen with its retained earnings bloating to beyond RM1b. It's like when you constipate, there's a lot of "gold" in you.

It's floating in cash - end 2014 RM123.4m given that each time the each time the pathetic dividend of 6.25 sen is paid, it takes up only RM27m odd.

Don't forget that their investment properties are stated at historical cost (when it could have been stated based on revaluation). It was revealed that at the AGM that the property was not revalued and if they were, it would add a substantial amount (about 50-odd sen if i'm not mistaken) to their NTA which as at end 2014 stood at RM2.72 per share. Since share price to NTA per share for each company is more or less a constant, it also means that the share price should correspondingly go up.

Another point is that RM3.30 offer was made ages ago and since then the value per share should go up in line with the profits that the KJ has been registering.

Now you justify to me that the Co is worth RM3.30 !

Share price plunge b'cause Co-Chair Tan Sri Thong passed away? The rest of the board are also old folks. They are a solid team & probably do not take too much bull the govt dishes out. I hope the successors will be equally as strong & resilent.

Lucky devil!

I may be a little paranoid but my guess of the price plunge is that Can-one is behind it so that independent parties like us can pick it up for cheap & will probably vote in favour of the buyout.

Feng you are right about the share price was languishing before the offer. The EPS has improved.

The Co needs to demonstrate that it has the capability to convert the earnings into actual cash & pay higher dividends that commensurate with its performance. Investors will then have a much higher regard for this Co & the PE will rise. Sucking money out of the Co via dividends is the most honorable and legitimate way to reward ALL shareholders including Can-One.

High earnings with low dividends = All thunder with no rain.

I'm all for the See brothers. Anyway even if Can-one can vote, with EPF regarded as an interested party hence to abstain, I believe the deal will not go through.

BTW what's happening today - Share price taking a steep plunge!

1 MDB is like a vacuum cleaner or the vortex of a massive whirlpool sucking us all into a financial ...

Just when you thought it couldn't get any lower

VT is merely announcing his intention to deal because it's a listing requirement. He may just remain on the sidelines.

Toto, Magnum & Pan M'sia Pools should jointly make the case to the Govt that taking a hefty 6% on top of the existing amounts all 3 pay to the govt is really punitive.

If this fails, then the 3 should as a cartel decide how to standardise sharing up this burden between the punters and shareholders.

If GST is not addressed, unlikely the share price will ever rise near to its previous highs.

I wonder why this Co is so stingy with dividends. On a "bad" quarter like ending 31 Mar 2015, it's EPS = 29.62 sen but interim dividend only 15 sen. Retain so much cash in the company for what? Surely it can pay more without compromising it's solvency, liquidity etc

This quarter should be good due to CNY

V good point gungho92. I hope they expand into online gaming.

At least it's better than companies with capital loss
& no dividends

south, south, south

A clearer picture will only emerge at the end of Toto's 2nd quarter. Hopefully TVT call pull some magic with his clout.

Dividend money in the bank - the most tender and sweetest moment in holding the stock

Minority Sh.Holders should come in large numbers and vote against the offer or else Can-One will get KJ for a song.

For the 1st time in my life, I bought 4D Toto more for understanding how the GST is implemented rather than with the hope of striking (any way I did not win). The ticket still cost RM1 but GST is included.

Hence in past (ignoring the gaming taxes) Toto had 100 cents to pay for prices and shareholder gains, but now only 1/1.06 = 94.3 cents to share between shareholders and punters. That's quite a painful chunk.

B.toto is a high volume and liquid share. To push it up by 5 sen means someone bought a big chunk. If it's top management or major shareholder, then it should be disclosed within a few days.

Just doing a survey -

How many of you think that the share price will bounce back up or at least touch once beyond 3.80 by Dec 2015? ... not me

How many of you think that it will sink (or at least touch once) below 3 by Dec 2015? ... not me

Of course I may have to eat humble pie later.

Basel III with extensive capital & liquidity requirements will slow down the bank's profitability

Share price breached RM19 ... nice feeling

If no GST break, then the govt is killing the goose that lays the golden eggs.

If you believe in safety in big names then you can rest easy as AIA & Great Eastern hold big stakes in the Co - based on top 30 shareholders.... Unless of course they have been the ones selling.

Tsuto - I sold all my Btoto shares at > 4.40 after it announced the trust set up in Singapore as I felt that there would be some dilution. If you double check at the Bursa website on the price trends, you'll see that it had hit such highs within the last 5 years.

Then I went in again from just over 4 all the way down.

3.40 = Massive loss for me

Rich - I would not agree privatisation at such a low price. TVT has the means to drive the market down further if he wants to e.g. by issuing bad news, negative prospects, holding back on dividends etc. It may be opportunistic for e.g. to offer privatisation when he's optimistic on the Philippine's concession.

Then when he actually privatise, he will start at a very low base and take the entire Co for a song (as nltong said). Shareholders burn lah. This is just a scenario I'm imagining. Perhaps I'm paranoid.

nltong - what you say makes sense for e.g. that loan to BLand. Btoto did get the money back when BLand issued RM900m exchangeable bonds (into Btoto shares owned by BLand). The public frowned on this related-party deal. His internal dealings leave much to be desired.

Among his diversified group of companies I think Btoto is the relative jewel in the crown.

jayawin - enlighten us why. How did you arrive at TP of 2?

What's preventing me from emptying my FDs for S Toto? One main uncertainty is the extension of the Philippine gaming concession which accounted for 13% of profits.

The jury is still out on HR Owen but I'm skeptical. The results will speak for itself going forward.

nltong - can you enlighten us on your "mistake" so that we can be the judge as to whether someone is to be blamed or a mere question of markets being efficient and brutal.

Actually if you study more carefully, the operating results overall has declined.

A big chunk of the profit comes from RM18m stamp duty refund from aborted listing of trust in Singapore. Then you have this misleading HR Owen whereby revenue (Sales in layman terms) runs into hundreds of millions but profit only RM5m odd, enough to buy some chickenfeed and a few rounds of drinks for QPR players. It's the equivalent of working very hard but small salary at the end of the month. It pumps up the consolidated financial statements with a lot of hot air. This car business profits is difficult to turn to cash (unlike the lottery profits). I'm hoping that if they don't show enough profits in a few quarters then sell at a profit.

Operating expense also went up. Frankly, I'm always suspicious about increases in Op expense in a high profile counter like BToto... if you know what I mean.

On the bright side, with CNY in Feb, we should expect higher profits from gaming (unless HR Owen drags it down).

No wonder even Vince was staying on the sidelines

Maybe keeping some $ for share buyback?

I'm also somewhat disappointed - I'd rather the money in my pocket than in the Co.

I'm not that concerned with the management as the tycoon himself with his kids have large personal stakes in it. I think the real concern lies with the greedy politicians who would want a slice of the action without assuming any investment, effort or risk.

Results around the corner. No buying from TVT despite low price. Could mean 2 possibilities - 1) Poor results or 2) TVT has no money

Not this quarter. A little kedekut. Finance text books say and I agree that management should not keep too much cash. It makes them complacent when they are too comfortable. They start harbouring thoughts of a better car, other perks or bonuses.

I believe it it's a 75% payout policy, it should be read as "at least 75%". Maxis had been paying dividends in excess of their quarterly EPS for a long time.

If BToto can replicate EPS of 7.39 cents like in the last quarter then it could technically pay 6 cents per quarter. It's after all a cash business.